James Grippando got media attention earlier this year when critics noted his 1998 political thriller, The Abduction, featured a hotly contested bid for the presidency between a white woman and a black man. In his latest thrill-a-minute novel, the vice president drops dead while hunting alligators in the Everglades. Jack Swytek, Grippando's recurring hero, gets caught up in the death and a related cover-up. Without giving too much away, the cover-up has parallels to the most popular right-wing theory of the moment: whether President-elect Obama was born on U.S. soil.

The father of New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has died. Coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday that Greg Cassel died Monday night and Matt has left the team. Belichick said he didn't know when the player would return.

First lady Laura Bush soon will no longer live in the country's most famous mansion or be able to get away to the coveted Camp David presidential retreat. But beyond the perks, she says what she will miss most about being first lady are the staff and friends who surround her.

A Superior Court judge cleared the way Wednesday for gay marriage in Connecticut, a victory for advocates still stinging over a California referendum that banned same-sex unions in that state last week.

Stan Clark, who has run Eskimo Joe's since the self-proclaimed "jumpin' little juke joint" opened its doors a half-block off the Oklahoma State campus 34 years ago, takes more than a little pride in his version of the high-cholesterol dish. The Idaho spuds are fresh-cut and seasoned with a "secret spice." Still, they were just another menu item until some extraordinary word of mouth.

The state of the U.S. Olympic Committee got a golden endorsement Saturday when CEO Jim Scherr praised the successes of 2006 Winter and 2008 Summer Olympians and the Paralympians. He also commended the USOC for its strong financial plan.